Michel Therrien, in his second stint behind the Montreal Canadiens' bench, with his club entering the day in first place in the East, facing his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the first time since he was fired on Feb. 15, 2009.

If that wasn't enough, there was the return of Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby, playing in fine form, to Montreal for the first time since Nov. 26, 2011, after he sat out a large chunk of last season battling post-concussion syndrome.

And, a national audience on Hockey Night in Canada with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking a rare Saturday off, to see if the Habs could measure up against one of the NHL's most talented teams even without a concussed Evgeni Malkin.

This one certainly lived up to its billing.

Brandon Sutter's second of the game with 4:08 left in OT gave the Penguins a wild a 7-6 victory over the Habs. Crosby had a three-point effort with a goal and two assists while Matt Cooke and Chris Kunitz both had two goals.

Habs goalie Carey Price and Pittsburgh counterpart Tomas Vokoun both struggled. Captain Brian Gionta had two goals while David Desharnais, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty and Brandon Prust also scored as Montreal picked up a point in the standings.

Crosby thought he had stepped back in time.

"That looked look like the 1980s out there," said Crosby with a smile. "I think every­body got their money's worth tonight. It was exciting. I haven't played in one like that in quite awhile so it reminded me of when I was in Rimouski watching those.

"Those ones don't happen very often."

No kidding. Five times either the Penguins or Habs took the lead and then surrendered it. The Habs and Penguins both held the lead at separate times in the third and let it slip away as Gionta forced OT with his second at 10:54.

"Crazy game, eh? Exciting for the fans, but that's one of the reasons coaches start to get grey hair," said Therrien. "But you know what, we're making comebacks and we find a way to get a point."

Earlier in the day, Therrien admitted it was going to be special to get a chance to face his former team. He wanted badly to get a win and noted it was Crosby who had texted him congratulations when he was hired to run the Habs.

"Sidney is a special player," Therrien said. "When he was 18 years old I remember saying to him in one of our first meetings that we wanted him to become the best player in the NHL. The next year, he won the scoring title."

Little did Therrien know those words would come back to haunt him years later. It looked like Crosby's 10th of the season at 10:24 to break a 5-5 tie might turn out to be the winner. Not on this night, not in this town.

"They're always loud and it's always a tough environment to play in," said Crosby. "This is a great place to play hockey. It's always nicer when you win here. That's for sure. It's a loud building to play on the road.

"I think everybody gets up for these games because they're always fun to be a part of."

Nobody predicted it would be this much fun.

"You'll take the point, no matter what," said Gionta. "It's just that's not the way we wanted to play. It's tough to win games in this league when you're playing that way, especially against a team that's so offensively gifted."

"It's back and forth, you have to try and stay as even-keeled as you can ... it was a tough game that way."

Habs winger Colby Armstrong, who played for Therrien in Pittsburgh, noted he "gives us the script. We're the actors and we're supposed to act out the script."

There is not a chance Therrien scripted this finish.

"That wasn't what we expected at all, especially against a team that has been very good defensively," said Sutter. "It's still a win but we have to make sure we're much better in our own end. It's not the prettiest win, but we'll take it."

Sidney Crosby: Penguins run-and-gun win 'looked like 1980s'

Michel Therrien, in his second stint behind the Montreal Canadiens' bench, with his club entering the day in first place in the East, facing his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the first time since he was fired on Feb. 15, 2009.

If that wasn't enough, there was the return of Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby, playing in fine form, to Montreal for the first time since Nov. 26, 2011, after he sat out a large chunk of last season battling post-concussion syndrome. And, a national audience on Hockey Night in Canada with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking a rare Saturday off, to see if the Habs could measure up against one of the NHL's most talented teams even without a concussed Evgeni Malkin.

This one certainly lived up to its billing. Brandon Sutter's second of the game with 4:08 left in OT gave the Penguins a wild a 7-6 victory over the Habs.